Egg candler



J. L. sTucKY Sept. 17, 19-51 EGG CANDLER 5 She'ts-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 5. 1954 lllllnl II. I

INVENTOR; Jews 1.. 57'UCKY ATTOPA EYG' P 1957 J. L. STUCKY 2,806,403

EGG CANDLER Filed Aug. 5. 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORI Jews 1.. 57'uc/ BY PICA/57f WATTS, EOGEETON MNENNY ATTOEA/EYE.

United States Patent EGG CANDLER Jonas L. Stucky, McPherson, Kans.

Application August 5, 1954, Serial No. 448,636

1 Claim. (Cl. 88-14.8)

This invention relates to egg handling equipment and more particularly to an egg handler wherein the eggs are continuously carried by machine through the candling operation.

The invention disclosed and claimed herein contemplates the use of conveying elements for contiuously moving eggs for individual illumination in such a manner that an observer may note the condition of each egg and make the necessary classification thereof by controls on the machine. The candling of eggs by hand is notably laborious, tedious and time consuming, which adds materially to the ultimate cost of the eggs to the consumer. The provision of automatic handling equipment eliminates the manual operations and increases the rate at which the eggs may be candled.

In order to provide adequate mechanical handling of the eggs, a conveying system has been devised which will carry the eggs without breakage and introduce the eggs individually into a mechanism which causes the eggs to be illuminated while maintaining darkness in the vicinity of the eggs. The discharge of the eggs from the machine is controlled by the operator viewing the eggs in such a manner that they are confined with other eggs in the same classification for eventual packing and shipping.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide apparatus for automatically handling and illuminating eggs for visual analysis.

Another object of this invention is to provide egg candling apparatus which will carry eggs to be candled through a candling cycle and discharge the eggs as classified by the operator of the machine.

A further object of this invention is to provide a traveling conveyor having apertures therein on which the egg rests and which direct the light through the egg while it is in motion.

A still further object of this invention is to provide individual illuminating apparatus for eggs which will rotate the eggs as they pass through the candling cycle.

Another important object of this invention is to provide egg handling apparatus which will convey and deposit one egg at a time into the illuminating apparatus for observation by the operator.

A still further object of this invention is to provide egg conveying apparatus which is timed sequentially for the handling of eggs individually through the egg candling cycle and into the receiving containers.

Other objects and advantages more or less ancillary to the foregoing and the manner in which all the various ob-.

jects are realized will appear in the following description, which, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, sets forth the preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an automatic egg candling machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the egg candling machine;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of Fig. 2 with parts cut away for purposes of clarity;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the stationary table;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the rotating table;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7--7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a detail view of the egg feeder;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of an egg candling machine with conveyors disposed in alignment;

Fig. 10 is a detail view of a modified egg feeder;

Fig; 11 is a side view of the egg feeder shown in Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 is a detail view of the selector assembly.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the egg candling machine is shown therein having a frame 10. A feeder table 12 having guard rails 14 there-around receives the eggs to be candled. The floor of the table 12 is inclined toward a conveyor belt 16 which has rubber strips 18 mounted thereon at specified intervals approximately 1% apart. The belt 16 is endless and is driven by the rotation of a shaft 26 which carries the belt 16. A ratchet wheel 22 mounted on the shaft 20 advances the belt 16 by a distance equivalent to the space between the strips 18 perforated to provide two diametrically opposed after operation of the ratchet rod 24 which has one end eccentrically mounted in the wheel 26. As the belt 16 advances the eggs are discharged onto an endless conveyor belt 28 which travels transversely of the belt 16 and carries the eggs discharged therefrom. The belt 28 is carried by an idle pulley 30 rotatably mounted on the frame 10 to one side of the belt 18. A second pulley 32 at the opposite end of the belt 18 is pivotally mounted in the frame 10 and has a shaft 34 extended therefrom for receiving a drive pulley 36. A drive pulley 38 is mounted on shaft 34 and is connected by a V-belt 40 to a driving pulley 42 which is connected by shaft 44 to wheel 26. Pulleys 38 and 42 are so positioned that the belt 28 advances a distance equivalent to the width of belt 16 during a single operation cycle of the ratchet 22.

The discharge of the eggs from the belt 28 is controlled by a feeder assembly which regulates the flow of the eggs in timed relation with other elements of the machine. A vertical plate 46 is shiftable in the vertical plane for alternately obstructing the discharge of eggs 10. The connecting rod 56 inter connects one end of the walking beam 52 with a crank 58 mounted on a shaft 60 which is rotatably carried by the frame 10. Accordingly, a single egg is allowed to pass through the trough 50 for each rotation of the shaft 60 which actuates the egg releasing mechanism.

The eggs from the trough 50 are discharged onto a disk-like rotating table 62 which is formed from a metal disk 64 having a sheet of rubber 66 or similar soft material afiixed on the surface thereof. The table 62 is openings 68 therethrough.

The frame 11) has a top 70 mounted thereon having a crescent-shaped opening 72 formed therethrough. A rubber disk 74 is applied to the upper surface of the top 70. The rubber disk 74 has a crescent-shaped opening 76 in register with the opening 72 and coinciding therewith in shape and size. Further, the openings 68 in the table 62 are sequentially moved into registration with the opening 76 as the table 62 rotates.

When the egg is lying in the opening 68 it engages and is carried by marginal edges of the opening 76 in the rubber disk 74. As the table 62 rotates, the egg is pushed along by the side of the opening 68 and rolls continuously through the arcuate path of travel on the candling table. The rolling of the egg while it is illurninated allows the operator to make a better estimate of the condition of the egg and in what classification it should eventually be included. The opening in the rotating table 62, therefore, is sized so that the curved surface of a large egg will extend through the opening 68 and engage the edges of the arcuate slot 72.

The rotating table 62 is mounted on a vertical shaft 78 carried by the frame 10. A pair of lamp housings 80 are mounted on the shaft 78 and have lenses 82 therein beneath each of the openings 68 respectively. An electric lamp 84 is provided in each housing 80 respectively for supplying illumination through the lenses or which passes through the openings 72, 76 and 6 8 to the eggs carried by the table 62. The lamps 84 are supplied electrical current through wires 86 connected to a slip ring assembly 88 mounted on the shaft 78. A brush assembly 90 engages the slip ring 88 and is connected through wires 92 to an on-oft switch 94 which is connected to a source of electrical power.

The shaft 78 is driven by a bevel gear box assembly 96 which is connected by shaft 98 to a gear reducer 100. A pulley 102 on the gear reducer input'shaft is connected by a belt 104 to pulley 106 mounted on the shaft of a drive motor 108. The motor 108 provides the power for rotating the table as well as driving the various conveyors and the control mechanisms.

A sprocket 110 is mounted on the shaft 98 and is connected by a roller chain 112 to a sprocket 114 which is mounted on shaft 60. Accordingly, a fixed relationship exists between the actuation of the control plates 46 and 48 and the rotation of the table 62. This mechanism provides a single egg to be discharged on the table and lodged in the opening 68 as the opening 68 passes the end of the trough 50. The pulley 116 mounted on shaft 98 is connected to pulley 36 by the belt 118 and continuously drives the conveyor belt 28 and the belt 16.

As the eggs leave the trough 50, a bafile 120 guides the eggs onto the table 62 in such a manner that they will immediately drop into the opening 68. The baffle 120 is curved to locate the eggs in the area traversed by the opening 68 to facilitate their engagement therewith. A deflector 122 is positioned above the opposite side of the table 62 and is curved to engage the egg and remove it from the rotating table. ing downwardly away from the table 62 receives the eggs discharged from the table by the deflector 122 and carries them onto a grading table 126. The trough 124 is pivoted for swinging movement and is positioned by actuation of a lever 128 pivotally mounted on the frame 10 and connected to the trough 124 by a link 130.

The grading table is provided with a belt conveyor 132 carried by a driving roller 134 and an idler roller 136 pivotally mounted on the table 126. The roller 134 is driven by a belt 136 which engages a pulley 138 affixed to a shaft 140 on which the roller 134 is mounted. The pulley 142 is mounted on the shaft 98 thus causing translational movement of the belt 132 when the candling table 62 is rotating.

A series of directing bafiles 144, 146, 148 150 and 152 are located above the belt 132 for removing the eggs carried thereon in a pre-determined manner. The ends of the baffles are located in such a manner that they are adjacent the discharge end of the trough 124 when it is in its various operating positions. The baffies each cooperate with the adjoining baffie to provide a channel which is pre-selected by the operator in moving the lever 128. The grading table 126 is provided with sections which have separators 154 therebetween to accumulate the eggs in their respective classifications as The discharge trough 124 slopdetermined by the candling operation. Accordingly, if

the trough 124 is moved to the space between baffles 144 and 146 an egg coming from the candling table 162 will be discharged therebetween carried along by the belt 132 and deflected to the stationary portion of the grading table 132 in the left section as shown in Fig. 1. By repositioning the lever 128 it is possible therefore for the operator to place the eggs as they are candied and classified in any desired stationary receiving section of the table. When the eggs have been classified in this manner all of the eggs from the particular section are packed together which involves merely removing them from the table and placing them in the usual case provided for that purpose.

In the alternate form of my invention shown in Fig. 9 the egg candling apparatus functions in the same mannor as that just previously described. However, certain details of construction are somewhat different and are preferred for certain types of installations. In Fig. 9 the conveyor 16 is shown operating in the general direction of conveyor 132 which results in a machine which is more adaptable to location in a long narrow space. The conveyor belt 16 delivers the eggs to the cross-conveyor which is formed form a pair of spaced narrow belts 200. The discharge of the eggs from the belts 200 and the timing of the placing of the egg on the table 52 is accomplished by the plates 202 and 204 mounted for vertical reciprocation in the trough 50.

The plate 202 is actuated by a connecting rod 206 which is driven by an eccentric 208 mounted on the shaft 60, A similar connecting rod 210 is connected with the plate 204 and is driven by an eccentric 212 also mounted on shaft 60. The eccentrics 208 and 212 are afiixed to" the shaft 60 in such a manner that the throw of each is diametrically opposed to the other. In this manner the plate 202 is in a lowered position while plate 204 is in a raised position, their positions alternating as the shaft 60 rotates.

The rotating table 62 has openings 68 formed therein on opposite sides in the machine shown in Fig. 9. The arcuate slot 214 beneath the table 62 extends half the length of the angular displacement of the table 62, thereby increasing the length of time that the egg is illuminated before discharge from the table 62. In lieu of the swinging trough 124, a deflector 216 is pivotally mounted on the vertical shaft 78 for rotation thereby controlling the point at which the egg is removed from the table 62. A lever 218 is pivotally mounted on the frame 10 connected with the deflector by a link 220.

Lateral movement of the lever 218 causes the deflector to be rotationally displaced for selective discharge of the eggs from the table. In the modified form the directing baffles 144, 146, 148, 150 and 152 have their forward ends adjacent to table 62, thus making possible the alignment therewith of the deflector 216. Accordingly, the operator may distribute the eggs in their classification by actuation of the lever 218 and positioning of the deflector 216 at the ends of a pre-selected baffle.

In operation, a layer of eggs is placed on the table 12 from which they gravitate onto the belt 16. The ribs 18 on the belt 16 assures the delivery of eggs in rows and at a predetermined rate onto the conveyor belt 28. The conveyor belt 28 continuously delivers the eggs against the regulating plate assembly which functions in timed relation to the candling table to allow the placing of an eggin the illuminated opening in the candling table each conveyor 132. The egg is directed by the baflies onto the sectionalized receiving table Where it is retained with the other eggs of similar condition for packing purposes. It can be seen that the eggs travel from the supply table through the candling operation and to the receiving table by means of conveyors and the only manual operation required is the positioning of the discharge trough 124 to select the section of the receiving table in which the egg is to be retained. A very rapid candling rate is obtainable by the use of this machine since the eggs are not handled by the operator from one container through the candling device into another container.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character, in order that the invention may be completely set forth, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining, and that various rearrangements of parts and modifications of detail may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

What is claimed is:

An egg candler comprising a stationary frame having a top surface and elongated edges in the top surface defining an elongated arcuate aperture through the top surface, an egg-supporting table mounted above the frame and adjacent to the frame for rotation relative to the frame and having spaced egg-receiving openings registering with the elongated aperture of said frame as the table is rotated and being smaller than eggs to be candled, the elongated aperture-defining edges being engageable with eggs carried in the table openings to impart rolling motion to eggs as the table is rotated to carry eggs along the length of the frame aperture, and lamp means mounted for rotation with the table relative to the frame and below the frame and disposed to illuminate through the frame aperture eggs carried in the table openings and engaging the elongated edges in the frame top surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,155,905 Fish Oct. 5, 1915 1,209,651 Adelmo et al. Dec. 26, 1916 1,221,730 Hatfield Apr. 3, 1917 1,473,279 Clairemont Nov. 6, 1923 2,044,981 Guttman June 23, 1936 2,175,262 Haugh Oct. 10, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS 339,115 Great Britain Dec. 4, 1930 

